ST. LOUIS, MO – On Saturday, July 26, St. Louis’ largest distributor of free food for the hungry, Operation Food Search, is hosting Saturday Jubilee, a community-wide food drive to restock its distribution center this summer. The 6th annual Saturday Jubilee will take place at 118 grocery stores throughout the St. Louis region, including Dierbergs Markets, Schnucks Markets, Walmart Stores, Straub’s Markets, Price Chopper, and Shop ‘n Save.
Operation Food Search volunteers will be on hand to greet customers and collect donations at grocery stores in the City of St. Louis, and in St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin counties in Missouri and St. Clair and Madison counties in Illinois. A diverse cross-section of volunteer groups are coming together this one day for one purpose –to help end hunger – including volunteers from Operation Food Search’s 250 partner agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.
“The broad scope of Saturday Jubilee ensures a conduit to many of the neighborhoods where our partner agencies are located, enabling the donated food to remain directly in the areas where it is collected,” said Sunny Schaefer, executive director of Operation Food Search. “With food donations typically down in the summer, Saturday Jubilee will greatly impact our ability to restock the shelves of our distribution center as well as directly stock the shelves of the agencies we serve.”
“In the summer, more children are at home who would otherwise qualify to receive free or reduced meals during the school year,” adds Gary Wells, community partnership director for Operation Food Search. “While we have made great gains in connecting children with summer meals programs, the overall community benefits from the trifecta of generous donors, participating grocers and scores of dedicated volunteers who help our neighbors in need ease the harsh effects of hunger over the summer months.”
Clink this link for more information about the event: http://hectv.staging.wpengine.com/events/2014/july/
For a complete listing of Saturday Jubilee collection sites, visit www.OperationFoodSearch.org.
Claire Wright, Social Media and Marketing Intern
